Officials Friday announced plans for a permanent Hall of Fame for Grand Haven High School alumni. It will be coupled with a fund-raising effort to support an endowment to help needy students.

The Hall of Fame will help current students connect with successful students of the past, said Lana Jacobson, vice president of the Grand Haven Schools Foundation. Officials hope it also will inspire today's youth to strive for greatness.

Hall of Fame inductees could be war heroes, musicians, successful business entrepreneurs or athletes.

"It's wide open," said Louann Werksma, a spokeswoman for the program.

The Hall of Fame will shine the light on a growing endowment for underprivileged preschool and middle school students who are struggling academically.

"By combining the goals of building our endowment with celebrating our alumni, we'll be honoring the past while we build for the future," Jacobson said.

The endowment already has $650,000 in pledges, officials said.

The goal is to reach $1 million, which would cover 40 scholarships annually of varying sizes to help needy students prepare for their educational futures, Jacobson said.

In 2007, the endowment had enough cash to cover seven scholarships, Werksma said. The scholarships pay for early childhood services -- such as a $545 annual cost for Grand Haven's preschool program -- that are not supported by taxpayers.

Meanwhile, the endowment helps a middle school program called CHILL -- Completing Homework In a Learning Lab.

Proceeds from the hall of fame induction ceremony in November, and other events, will go to the endowment.

Six people will be inducted into the hall from five categories every two years. The categories are: Academic/career achievements, a male and female athlete or a team, cultural/performing arts, major contributions to Grand Haven Schools, and special honorary achievement.

An anonymous donor recently gave $50,000 to the endowment, Jacobson said.
Plans for the Hall of Fame and the endowment fund were announced at the Chamber's Early Bird Breakfast at Jack's Restaurant in the Spring Lake Holiday Inn.

Jacobson said her board will tour the high school building in search of the appropriate place to display plaques with pictures of the inductees.

The Wall of Fame would be a permanent display, officials said.

Officials said alumni qualify for the hall of fame 10 years after they graduate from the high school.

The nomination forms, which are available to anyone at the school district's Web site, are due in May. An advisory committee, appointed by the foundation, will review the applications and make final selections by June 30.

An announcement on this year's winners will be made in June.

A community rally will be at Buccaneer Stadium on Nov. 8. That night, an induction dinner will take place at the community center. Cost of a ticket, which will be available after nominees are announced in June, has not been set.

Hall of Fame inductees will be more than just names and faces on plaques, Werksma said. She said the winners will return to the school and interact with current students.

"We want people who have done something with their lives to come back and inspire current students," Werksma said.

"It's also a way to preserve and honor the stories of this community."